Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 20 No 3 (2016): 651 - 659

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/mjas-2016-2003-26

 

 

 

EFFECT OF USING PITAYA PEEL AS DYE-SENSITIZER AND DYE MOLECULES IN ELECTROLYTE FOR PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL REACTION

 

(Kesan Penggunaan Kulit Buah Naga Sebagai Pemeka-Pewarna dan Molekul Pewarna di dalam Elektrolit bagi Tindak Balas Fotoelektrokimia)

 

Siti Nur Hidayah Jaafar¹, Lorna Jeffery Minggu¹*, Khuzaimah Ariffin¹, Mohammad B. Kasssim^{1, 2},

Wan Ramli Wan Daud^{1, 3}

 

¹Fuel Cell Institute

²School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology

³Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author: lorna_jm@ukm.edu.my

 

 

Received: 5 February 2016; Accepted: 22 April 2016

 

 

Abstract

Natural dye sensitizer in photoelectrochemical shows a great potential in improving the efficiency of metal oxide semiconductor especially Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) due to its prominent in absorbing visible light and also low cost. In this work, the effect of using pitaya peel as natural dye sensitizes to TiO₂ has been studied through characterizations analysis and PEC test. The bare TiO₂ thin films were fabricated on Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate by doctor blade method meanwhile dye-sensitized TiO₂ thin films prepared by immersion of TiO₂ in the dye extracts. The fabricated thin films were characterized with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray difractometer (XRD), UV-Vis spectrophotometer and photoelectrochemical analysis. The surface of TiO₂ was porous and uniform meanwhile dye particles could not been observed due to very small size. The energy band gap of dye-sensitized TiO₂ from the UV-Vis spectrum is 2.1 eV which is smaller than bare TiO₂ (3.7 eV). Meanwhile, photoactivities of dye-sensitized TiO₂ has the highest compared to bare TiO₂ photoelectrodes which is 127µA/cm² in 6.25% v/v of pitaya dye in the electrolyte.

 

Keywords: titanium dioxide, dye-sensitizers, betalains, photoelectrochemical cell, water splitting

 

Abstrak

Pemeka-pewarna semulajadi di dalam fotoelektromia (PEC) menunjukkan potensi yang bagus untuk meningkatkan keupayaan semikonduktor logam oksida terutamanya titanium dioksida (TiO₂) disebabkan kemampuannya untum menyerap cahaya nampak dan kos yang rendah. Di dalam penyelidikan ini, kesan menggunakan kulit buah naga sebagai pemeka-pewarna semulajadi terhadap TiO₂ telah dikaji melalui pencirian dan analisis fotoelektrokimia. Filem nipis TiO₂ asli telah dihasilkan melalui kaedah Doctor blade di atas kepingan kaca bersalut FTO (Stanum oksida terdop fluorin) manakala filem nipis TiO₂ dengan pewarna-pemeka telah dihasilkan dengan merendam TiO₂ ke dalam larutan ekstrak pewarna. Filem nipis yang telah terbentuk telah melalui beberapa analisis pencirian iaitu, Mikroskopi Elektron Imbasan (SEM), Difraktometer Pembelauan Sinar-X (XRD), Spektrofotometer Ultralembayung dan Cahaya Nampak (UV-Vis) dan juga ujian fotoelektrokimia. Permukaan TiO₂ adalah berliang dan seragam manakala zarah pewarna tidak dapat dilihat disebabkan saiznya yang terlalu kecil. Jurang tenaga filem nipis TiO₂ dengan pewarna-pemeka adalah lebih rendah iaitu 2.1 eV jika dibandingkan dengan TiO₂ asli (3.7 eV). Manakala, fotoaktiviti bagi fotoelektrod TiO₂ dengan pewarna-pemeka adalah lebih tinggi daripada TiO₂ asli dengan 127µA/cm² di dalam kepekatan 6.25% v/v pewarna di dalam elektrolit.

 

Kata kunci: titanium dioksida, pemeka-pewarna, betalain, sel fotoelektrokimia, pembelahan air

 

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